Boat ladder

ABSTRACT

A standoff boat ladder apparatus for boarding a boat, or the like, has a pair of spaced rails, each rail having both ends curved whereby one end may be hooked over the gunnell of a boat, to hold the rail to the boat, and the other end curved to act as a standoff from the freeboard of the boat. The rails are held in spaced relationship to each other by a plurality of rungs each connected to each rail in a manner that each rail may be rotated in the rungs. The rails may be folded by rotating the rails and may be rotated into an operative position and locked by sliding a rung onto one of the curved portions of the rails.

United States Patent Charles F. Thomas Orlando;

Allen C. Thomas, Tampa, both of, Fla. Appl. No. 861,082

Filed Sept. 25, 1969 Patented July 6, 1971 inventors Primary Examiner Reinaldo P. Machado Attorney-Duckworth and Hobby ABSTRACT: A standofi boat ladder apparatus for boarding a boat, or the like, has a pair of spaced rails, each rail having both ends curved whereby one end may be hooked over the gunnell'of a boat, to hold the rail to the boat, and the other end curved to act as a standoff from the freeboard of the boat. The rails are held in spaced relationship to each other by a plurality of rungs each connected to each rail in a manner that each rail may be rotated in the rungs. The rails may be folded by rotating the rails and may be rotated into an operative position and locked by sliding a rung onto one of the curved portions of the rails.

BOAT LADDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to ladders and especially to boat ladders for boarding and leaving boats, and the like, which may be folded for easy storage and is built to prevent damage to the boat. In such ladders it is desirable to have a compact ladder that may be easily stored in the limited storage space of a boat and yet may be conveniently placed on the boat for people entering and leaving the water from the boat while not scratching or marring the boat by its use.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the past, several boat ladders have been provided each of which generally has hooked rails for attaching to the gunnel of a boat and each generally provides a plurality of rungs or steps for boarding the boat. Finally boat ladders generally provide some type of standofi to hold the ladder away from the freeboard or side of the boat. Most of these prior art ladders provide some means of folding so that the ladder may be conveniently stored in the limited storage space of the boat and most provide some protection on the rails and standoffs to prevent damage to the side of the boat. These prior art boat ladders typically provide a separate pair of standofis connected to a rung which folds inward and against or under the rung in its folded positiomThe hooked upper portion of the rails of these prior art boat ladders frequently provide the upper part or hooked portion of the rails in a separate piece from the remaining portion of the rails so that they may be rotated to a folding position. Typical of this prior art is US. Pat. No. 3,078,955 which provides swinging upper hooked portions having an operative and a folded position and having two swinging standofi's connected to one rung of the ladder. Another such prior art patent is US. Pat. No. 3,006,434, which is similar, but having. standoffs connected to the rails rather than the rungs of the ladder. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,056,466 provides a similar arrangement except that the standoff is one U-shaped member which folds downward under a rung rather than having two separate legs swinging to a position generally parallel with the rung. Such prior art boat ladders have proved generally satisfactory but have frequently not been readily adaptable for ease of mass-production and assembly.

The present invention, on the other hand, advantageously provides a boat ladder that is well adapted for mass production techniques, having an overall simple operation and construction while being relatively strong and providing an esthetic appeal. Thus, one object of the present invention is to provide a boatladder having a unique locking mechanism for holding the ladder in the operative position while advantageously utilizing the rails not only for the side hooks but also for the standofis for the side of the boat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is fora ladder and especially a boarding ladder for boarding and leaving boats, and the like, which may be easily folded for convenient storage and readily opened and locked into an operative position. A pair of spaced rails have hooked orU-shaped ends on one or both ends of each rail and have a plurality of rungs-with each rung connected to each rail in a manner to allow the rails to be rotated in the rungs, thus when the rails are rotated with their U-shaped ends substantially in line with the rungs, they form a conveniently folded position; for the ladder, and when the rungs are rotated with their U-shapes parallel to each other, they form a convenient attaching means for the gunnel of the boat and standofi's to hold the bottom portion of the ladder away from the side of the boat. The ladder may be advantageously locked into its operative position by one rung being slidable onto the curved portion of the rails of the ladder, thereby preventing rotation of the ladder as long as the rung remains in this position. This locking is reinforced by the opposite curved portion of the rails which are hanging over the gunnel of the boat. When the ladder is to be folded the sliding rung is lifted or slid away from the curved portion of the ladder and the rails rotated to a folding position. The ladder may be conveniently made from standard tubing such as aluminum or aluminum alloys as well as such materials as plastic pipes, and the like, and may have tips-or in the case of a metal ladder, sheaths-to protect the gunnel and side of the boat from the metal surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from a study of the written description and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of one embodiment of the present invention attached to the side of a boat;

FIG. 2 is a cutaway sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; I

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of one cap for the ends of the rails; and

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment similar to that of FIG. I removed from the side of the boat and in a folded position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, one embodiment of the present ladder 10 can be seen connected to a boat 11 having a pair of rails 12 having upper hooked, curved or U-shaped portions 13 attached over the gunnel 14 of the boat 11. Rails 12 also have their opposite ends 15 U-sli'aped or hooked similar to,-the curved portion 13 except this portion would generally be of a smaller curve or hook than 13. The end of the rails 12 are each provided with caps 16 for protection of surfaces of the boat that the ends might come in contact with. The ladder 10 has rungs 17 connected to the rails 12 in a manner that rails 12 can rotate in rungs l7 and except for the bottom rung 18, the rungs are prevented from sliding along the rails 12. Rung 18, however, is specifically made to slide and when slid onto the curved portion 15 of the rails 12, will prevent the rotation of the rails 12 by the rung 18 being ofi'set with the vertical line of the rails. Thus the ladder is held in an operative position by sliding rail I8 as shown in this view onto the curved portion 15. This is strengthened when the ladder is on a boat 11 by the hooked portion 13 of the rails 12 being hung over the boat in operative position so that they could not normally be rotated by any substantial angle. A girl 20 is shown boarding the boat 11 on ladder l0 and the curved portion 15 of the rails 12 are shown as they would normally be next to the free board of the boat 11 in a manner to hold the ladder 10 rungs generally away from the freeboard and in a more vertical position. It will be noted of course that in the operative position rung 18 will be out of alignment but still parallel to the remaining rungs of the ladder. It should also be observed at this point that the standoff portion 15 does not have to be U-shaped but may for instance be curved in a generally L-shaped or any other shape to from a standoff for the ladder.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a view is seen taken along lines 2-2 of F IG". 1 and shows one way of holding the rungs 17 in a position on rails 12 so that they will not slide along rails 12 but will allow rails 12 to be rotated within each rung 17. A rivet or pin 21 has been attached to rails 12 in a hole or bore 22 in each wall of the hollow rung 17 allows member 12 to pass therethrough and to rotate therein but will not allow rung 17 to slide along rail 12 for any but a small distance. Even this small amount of sliding may be reduced by variations in the manner of holding rung 17 to the'rail 12; thus one common way, and one way anticipated for use by the inventor, might be to vary the diameter of the pipe 12 at the point where it passes through rung 17 thus that portion of the pipe 12 between be or a larger diameter for the remaining portion of the-rail. Thus by varying the size of rail 12 at certain points, rung 17 would be held in one general place without preventing rotation of the rails. It will be noted, of course, that rung 18, (not shown in this view) will not have means holding it to one general locationsince it is meant to slide on rails 12.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a view taken along line 3-3 can be seen having rail 12, rung l7, rivet 21 and bores 22. The pipes have been generally illustrated as polyvinylchloride having aluminum rivet 21. Thus rail 12 and rung 17 would generally be round tubing even though it should be clear that especially rung 17 could be any desired shape without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and might well be of a flat step design rather than the tubes having a circular cross section as shown. The hollow tubesshown may or may not be preferred depending upon the material being used and its is anticipated that aluminum and steel tubing as well as plastic tubing is within the scope of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a view of one cap 17 placed on the end of rails 12 and will generally be a resilient or rubberized material to prevent scratching or marring of the boat by the end of the rails 12, and also providing a surface that will not easily slide.

FIG. 5 shows the embodiment similar to that of FIG. 1 in a generally folded position and having rails 12 with upper curved portions 13 for hooking onto the side of a boat and lower curved portions 15 for acting as a standoff from the boat. The curved portions 15 in this embodiment have been curved to a lesser degree than the previous embodiment to provide standoff legs with the tips 16 adapted to be placed directly against the freeboard ll. Rungs 17 are connected to rails 12 in a manner that the rails may be rotated from an operative position as shown in FIG. 1 to a folded position as shown in this figure. Rung 18, which is the slidable rung, has been slid away from the curved portion 15 of the rails 12 to allow rails 12 to be rotated to the folded position. This rung advantageously will slide a sufficient distance along rails 12 so that the curved portion 15 of rails 12 can be folded to a more compact position underneath the rung 18. Tips 16 may also be seen in this view.

It will be clear at this point that a boat ladder has been provided which uniquely provides rails or frame members which act as hooks for holding the ladder on the side of the boat with the same member also providing the standoffs for the freeboard of the boat while providing a unique locking mechanism which is economic to build and utilize and reliable to operate.

This invention is not to be construed'as' limited to the particular forms disclosed herein since these are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

We claim:

l. A ladder apparatus for boarding and leaving boats, and the like, comprising in combination! a. spaced rails, each said rail having two end portions, and

each said end portion having a curved portion;

b. a plurality of rungs, each said rung being connected to each said rail;

c. said rails being rotatable in said rungs, whereby said end portions may be rotated to a folded position for storage;

d. locking means for locking said rails against rotation whereby said end portions may be held in an operativeposition; and

c. said locking means having one rung slidable on said rails and onto one said curved portion of one end portion of said rails to lock said rails against rotation in said rungs; whereby one end portion of each rail may act as a standoff from a surface and the other end portion of each said rail is adapted for use in holding said ladder in an operative position against said surface.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which each end portion of said rails is generally U-shaped whereby each rail is generally C-shaped.

3. The apparatus according claim 1 in which one said end portion fonns an approximately curved L-shafpe.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 in w ich said rails are tubular members having a substantially circular cross section.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4 in'which said rungs are tubular members substantially circular in cross section.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 in which said rungs have openings passing therethrough on each end portion thereof with said rail passing therethrough.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 in which said rails have rivet member connected to said rails located within the hollow tubular portion of said rungs for said rungs to ride on. 

1. A ladder apparatus for boarding and leaving boats, and the like, comprising in combination: a. spaced rails, each said rail having two end portions, and each said end portion having a curved portion; b. a plurality of rungs, each said rung being connected to each said rail; c. said rails being rotatable in said rungs, whereby said end portions may be rotated to a folded position for storage; d. locking means for locking said rails against rotation whereby said end portions may be held in an operative position; and e. said locking means having one rung slidable on said rails and onto one said curved portion of one end portion of said rails to lock said rails against rotation in said rungs; whereby one end portion of each rail may act as a standoff from a surface and the other end portion of each said rail is adapted for use in holding said ladder in an operative position against said surface.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which each end portion of said rails is generally U-shaped whereby each rail is generally C-shaped.
 3. The apparatus according claim 1 in which one said end portion forms an approximately curved L-shape.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said rails are tubular members having a substantially circular cross section.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 4 in which said rungs are tubular members substantially circular in cross section.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 5 in which said rungs have openings passing therethrough on each end portion thereof with said rail passing therethrough.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 6 in which said rails have rivet member connected to said rails located within the hollow tubular portion of said rungs for said rungs to ride on. 